Joel Embiid Is on a Pitch Count

[gift]

I'm deftly afraid of what a fully healthy Sixers teams will look like a couple years from now without even considering the fact that they are still probably going to end up bottom 5 and have a shot at superstar PG prospects like Markelle Fultz or superstar SF prospects like Josh Jackson... not to mention the very real chance the Laker pick they own conveys this year in the 4-10 range.

All those guys will want to get paid, and I think some of them will bolt away from there.   No way all that talent stays.

That's the problem with extended tanking, by the time you're ready to compete the rookie deals start to expire.

This is not a problem with extended tanking. It's a problem with the perception that tanking leads to teams stocked with top 10 talent throughout the roster. Extended tanking is basically to give you the best shot at one or two of those guys given multiple chances. Tanking isn't about team-building. It's just about the dirty, desperate acquisition of something you need.

Sixers will lose guys they tanked for. But if they can end up with just a healthy Embiid and Simmons (for example), the tanking effort would have been successful. The team-building and player development are the next steps. But the tanking part would have done it's job.

[Csfan1984]

76ers are still tanking for two more years.

I'm deftly afraid of what a fully healthy Sixers teams will look like a couple years from now without even considering the fact that they are still probably going to end up bottom 5 and have a shot at superstar PG prospects like Markelle Fultz or superstar SF prospects like Josh Jackson... not to mention the very real chance the Laker pick they own conveys this year in the 4-10 range. 

But actually, the Sixers don't need to tank this year.  They have a pick-swap with the Kings.  The Kings suck too and will suck especially hard if they move Cousins before the trade deadline.  There's a far-fetch, but completely plausible scenario here where Embiid and Simmons start showing signs of stardom over the final few months, win some games, and still end up with a star in this draft.  Scary.

What's best is not playing Simmons and trading Okafor for Young, DJ and Nets 2017 pick or to another team willing to give up a sub 10 lotto shot. Once you have top lotto spot, Nets 5-10 range, Lakers 7-13 range and Kings 5-10 range lotto shots you get a real chance at Fultz and Jackson. Thats when the process of tanking is complete
Fultz, Jackson, Simmons, Embid= Penny, PG, Odom, Ewing. If they don't get lucky it will take at least one more tank year.

[LarBrd33]

 Okay I get it the kid looks to be the franchise, and you don't want him to risk further injury.

  however after playing 27 minutes in a 91 - 91 ballgame going into overtime, to pull him from the game and not playing him another 5 minutes, after hus body's already warmed up might be a little too much.

  I thought that they should have gave him at least a few more minutes, he handled it badly though he kicked the chair after they told him he couldn't play anymore I just wonder at what point do you lift the minute restriction.

KG, I agree with you.  I watched that whole game.  Joel Embiid continues to be one of the highlights of this season.

I had the same comment.  They were on the verge of winning their 5th straight home game.  The game went into double overtime.  Yes, he had reached his strict minute restriction, but what real harm would sticking him in there for 2-3 more minutes have done? 

The thing is, everything I've read suggests that his foot is fine at this point and the minute restriction has more to do with his conditioning.  He hasn't played basketball in two years.  The concern is that if he pushes himself too much for extended periods of time, he might start to drag and could put himself at risk of injuring something.  The idea is that if you start huffing and puffing and dragging, you could get a little careless with your body and that's when little sprains and twists can happen.

But extended period of time doesn't mean bulk minutes over the course of the game.  What that means is, instead of playing him for 6-8 minute stretches where he might start to huff and puff the last two minutes, instead they play him for 3-4 minute stretches.  Over the course of a 48 minute game, they have him capped at 24 minutes.   They disperse those minutes evenly over the course of the game and make sure he's getting all the rest he can until his cardio allows him to play longer stretches without getting winded.   

A "24 minute per game" cap makes no sense.  A cap for the amount of continuous minutes he plays makes a lot more sense for what they are doing.  And on that note, it really doesn't make any logical sense why he couldn't exceed 24 minutes in an overtime game.  As long as he's getting appropriate rest between his time on the court, what difference does it make?  It's not like him standing on his feet for more than 24 minutes is going to make his foot break itself again.   

That said, he actually did exceed the restriction tonight and perhaps they felt it was just best that they not push it any more.  They plan on sitting him Friday.   Obviously, they are being super cautious.

Kid is incredible, though.  Just incredible.  I'm blown away every time I watch him.  It was originally reported that both he and Okafor were going to be on 24 minute restrictions until late December.  This week they changed their tune and said Okafor is no longer on any minute restriction.  I imagine they'll stick with their Embiid plan.  But if his restriction actually lifts in December and Ben Simmons comes back in mid January as many predict, I wouldnt at all be surprised to see that team go on a mini run over the final few months.  Could be great news for our Brooklyn pick.

wasn't it on the same time as the celtics?

You think he watches the Celtics?

That was a gimme.  Knew someone would make that joke.   COnsider it your thanksgiving gift.

I have League Pass.

[KG Living Legend]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

[LarBrd33]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

I agree with you KG.  The restriction is about spacing out his minutes over the course of a game.  They must feel that at this stage, if he exceeds 4 minute stints, he's going to get winded... and when you're winded is when you are at risk of tripping over yourself and getting injured.   

So with those 4 minute stints we're talking...

- 4 minutes the start of the 1st
- Tons of rest during the next 6 minutes of game action (which can be like 15-20 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 2 minutes of 1st.
- Lots of rest between quarters
- Plays first 2 minutes of 2nd
- Lots of rest for the next 8 minutes of game action (which can be like 25 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 4 minutes of 2nd quarter.
- Tons of rest during half time...

Etc...   Over the course of the game, that gives him plenty of time to recover and he's never playing for too long at once.    So the "24 minute" cap is a function of how his minutes space out over a 48 minute game.   So why not just extend it during overtime?   Have him sit the first 2 minutes, then play the next 3 (which is why he ended up with 27 minutes).    Then do the same thing in the second overtime, right?  But for whatever reason they decided not to push it any further.


The only thing I'll say is that perhaps there's literally a per-game minute cap.  Let me put it like this.  Do you ski?   When I go skiing, there's a point after several hours and many runs where my legs just suddenly quit on me.  It will happen out of nowhere.  I can be in the middle of a run and then suddenly... oh crap, I'm done.   After a long day of skiing, the muscles in my legs just can't take it anymore.  It's like they turn to Jelly.  It just gets too sore and weak for me to keep skiing the same way I'm used to.  And that's when I'm at the highest risk of injuring myself, because my body control isn't quite there and I start getting lazy with how much effort I'm putting into digging into the mountain.   I had it happen to me the last time I went skiing.  I was fine the entire day, kicking butt and owning the mountain.  I figured I had one more run in me so I went on the backside of the mountain... half way down I realized I had made a serious mistake.  I didn't have any strength left in my legs.  I wiped out 5 times trying to get down the backside, then had to go up a chair lift and fumble my way back down the front side.  I was lucky I didn't slam into a tree and hurt myself.

Perhaps similar to that, Embiid's doctors have set a hard cap on the amount of NBA-level basketball minutes he should be playing over the course of 2 hours.  Maybe the concern is that with his level of conditioning coming back after 2 years away from the game, he could exceed 24 minutes and suddenly enter the Jelly-Legs zone where his knees could buckle at any time.   In which case, it's best they just play it safe.  He was already scheduled to skip Friday's game with rest... so they are clearly taking it slow with Embiid and making sure his cardio gets up to optimal levels before they lift that minute restriction.

And if he makes it long enough to see his minute restriction lifted... god help us.  That Philly team could be dominant in a few years.

[tazzmaniac]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

If they were tanking, they would never exceed the minutes restrictions.  Their medical staff is in charge of the recovery process of their injured players which is as it should be. They've got a long term plan for Embiid's health and they're sticking to it.  You'll notice that Embiid was pleading his case with the doctors not with Brown.  Brown can and has pushed the minutes a bit but when the medical staff says its enough then it is over. 

[max215]

I think it was the right decision. You don't risk a future Hall-of-Famer's health to win one game in November of a season in which you won't make the playoffs.

[KG Living Legend]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

I agree with you KG.  The restriction is about spacing out his minutes over the course of a game.  They must feel that at this stage, if he exceeds 4 minute stints, he's going to get winded... and when you're winded is when you are at risk of tripping over yourself and getting injured.   

So with those 4 minute stints we're talking...

- 4 minutes the start of the 1st
- Tons of rest during the next 6 minutes of game action (which can be like 15-20 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 2 minutes of 1st.
- Lots of rest between quarters
- Plays first 2 minutes of 2nd
- Lots of rest for the next 8 minutes of game action (which can be like 25 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 4 minutes of 2nd quarter.
- Tons of rest during half time...

Etc...   Over the course of the game, that gives him plenty of time to recover and he's never playing for too long at once.    So the "24 minute" cap is a function of how his minutes space out over a 48 minute game.   So why not just extend it during overtime?   Have him sit the first 2 minutes, then play the next 3 (which is why he ended up with 27 minutes).    Then do the same thing in the second overtime, right?  But for whatever reason they decided not to push it any further.


The only thing I'll say is that perhaps there's literally a per-game minute cap.  Let me put it like this.  Do you ski?   When I go skiing, there's a point after several hours and many runs where my legs just suddenly quit on me.  It will happen out of nowhere.  I can be in the middle of a run and then suddenly... oh crap, I'm done.   After a long day of skiing, the muscles in my legs just can't take it anymore.  It's like they turn to Jelly.  It just gets too sore and weak for me to keep skiing the same way I'm used to.  And that's when I'm at the highest risk of injuring myself, because my body control isn't quite there and I start getting lazy with how much effort I'm putting into digging into the mountain.   I had it happen to me the last time I went skiing.  I was fine the entire day, kicking butt and owning the mountain.  I figured I had one more run in me so I went on the backside of the mountain... half way down I realized I had made a serious mistake.  I didn't have any strength left in my legs.  I wiped out 5 times trying to get down the backside, then had to go up a chair lift and fumble my way back down the front side.  I was lucky I didn't slam into a tree and hurt myself.

Perhaps similar to that, Embiid's doctors have set a hard cap on the amount of NBA-level basketball minutes he should be playing over the course of 2 hours.  Maybe the concern is that with his level of conditioning coming back after 2 years away from the game, he could exceed 24 minutes and suddenly enter the Jelly-Legs zone where his knees could buckle at any time.   In which case, it's best they just play it safe.  He was already scheduled to skip Friday's game with rest... so they are clearly taking it slow with Embiid and making sure his cardio gets up to optimal levels before they lift that minute restriction.

And if he makes it long enough to see his minute restriction lifted... god help us.  That Philly team could be dominant in a few years.

 The cool thing about having my boy LB around here is its like we have one of the Philadelphia doctors right here on the blog.

 If Larry Legend says Embiid is good to go full tilt, then I believe him.

[tazzmaniac]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

I agree with you KG.  The restriction is about spacing out his minutes over the course of a game.  They must feel that at this stage, if he exceeds 4 minute stints, he's going to get winded... and when you're winded is when you are at risk of tripping over yourself and getting injured.   

So with those 4 minute stints we're talking...

- 4 minutes the start of the 1st
- Tons of rest during the next 6 minutes of game action (which can be like 15-20 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 2 minutes of 1st.
- Lots of rest between quarters
- Plays first 2 minutes of 2nd
- Lots of rest for the next 8 minutes of game action (which can be like 25 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 4 minutes of 2nd quarter.
- Tons of rest during half time...

Etc...   Over the course of the game, that gives him plenty of time to recover and he's never playing for too long at once.    So the "24 minute" cap is a function of how his minutes space out over a 48 minute game.   So why not just extend it during overtime?   Have him sit the first 2 minutes, then play the next 3 (which is why he ended up with 27 minutes).    Then do the same thing in the second overtime, right?  But for whatever reason they decided not to push it any further.


The only thing I'll say is that perhaps there's literally a per-game minute cap.  Let me put it like this.  Do you ski?   When I go skiing, there's a point after several hours and many runs where my legs just suddenly quit on me.  It will happen out of nowhere.  I can be in the middle of a run and then suddenly... oh crap, I'm done.   After a long day of skiing, the muscles in my legs just can't take it anymore.  It's like they turn to Jelly.  It just gets too sore and weak for me to keep skiing the same way I'm used to.  And that's when I'm at the highest risk of injuring myself, because my body control isn't quite there and I start getting lazy with how much effort I'm putting into digging into the mountain.   I had it happen to me the last time I went skiing.  I was fine the entire day, kicking butt and owning the mountain.  I figured I had one more run in me so I went on the backside of the mountain... half way down I realized I had made a serious mistake.  I didn't have any strength left in my legs.  I wiped out 5 times trying to get down the backside, then had to go up a chair lift and fumble my way back down the front side.  I was lucky I didn't slam into a tree and hurt myself.

Perhaps similar to that, Embiid's doctors have set a hard cap on the amount of NBA-level basketball minutes he should be playing over the course of 2 hours.  Maybe the concern is that with his level of conditioning coming back after 2 years away from the game, he could exceed 24 minutes and suddenly enter the Jelly-Legs zone where his knees could buckle at any time.   In which case, it's best they just play it safe.  He was already scheduled to skip Friday's game with rest... so they are clearly taking it slow with Embiid and making sure his cardio gets up to optimal levels before they lift that minute restriction.

And if he makes it long enough to see his minute restriction lifted... god help us.  That Philly team could be dominant in a few years.

Embiid is actually playing a bit more than I expected he would this early.  He is capped at 20-24 minutes per game right now and is not playing B2Bs.  He's also getting additional games off (like this Friday) when the schedule is crowded.  When the medical staff reviews his playing time at Christmas, I expect he'll get bumped up to 25-28 minutes but that the other restrictions will still apply.  Unless you're a doctor with access to Embiid's medical history, I think I'll go with the Sixers medical staff judgment over your speculations. 

[KG Living Legend]

Actually the no back-to-back games I agree with much more than not letting him play an extra 3 or 4 minutes in extra overtime.

[tazzmaniac]

Actually the no back-to-back games I agree with much more than not letting him play an extra 3 or 4 minutes in extra overtime.

He'd already played 3 more minutes than he was supposed to in the first overtime.  Playing an additional 3 or 4 minutes in the 2nd overtime would have had him playing 25% more than he was supposed to for the game.  Then what happens if they end up tied after the 2nd overtime?  Are you going to play him an additional 3 or 4 minutes?  A regular season game in November just isn't that important.   

[KG Living Legend]

Actually the no back-to-back games I agree with much more than not letting him play an extra 3 or 4 minutes in extra overtime.

He'd already played 3 more minutes than he was supposed to in the first overtime.  Playing an additional 3 or 4 minutes in the 2nd overtime would have had him playing 25% more than he was supposed to for the game.  Then what happens if they end up tied after the 2nd overtime?  Are you going to play him an additional 3 or 4 minutes?  A regular season game in November just isn't that important.

 That's the thing though he supposed to play 24 mins,  these guys are just making up a random number that's why he played 27 minutes the other night, it's kind of stupid at this point

[hwangjini_1]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

I agree with you KG.  The restriction is about spacing out his minutes over the course of a game.  They must feel that at this stage, if he exceeds 4 minute stints, he's going to get winded... and when you're winded is when you are at risk of tripping over yourself and getting injured.   

So with those 4 minute stints we're talking...

- 4 minutes the start of the 1st
- Tons of rest during the next 6 minutes of game action (which can be like 15-20 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 2 minutes of 1st.
- Lots of rest between quarters
- Plays first 2 minutes of 2nd
- Lots of rest for the next 8 minutes of game action (which can be like 25 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 4 minutes of 2nd quarter.
- Tons of rest during half time...

Etc...   Over the course of the game, that gives him plenty of time to recover and he's never playing for too long at once.    So the "24 minute" cap is a function of how his minutes space out over a 48 minute game.   So why not just extend it during overtime?   Have him sit the first 2 minutes, then play the next 3 (which is why he ended up with 27 minutes).    Then do the same thing in the second overtime, right?  But for whatever reason they decided not to push it any further.


The only thing I'll say is that perhaps there's literally a per-game minute cap.  Let me put it like this.  Do you ski?   When I go skiing, there's a point after several hours and many runs where my legs just suddenly quit on me.  It will happen out of nowhere.  I can be in the middle of a run and then suddenly... oh crap, I'm done.   After a long day of skiing, the muscles in my legs just can't take it anymore.  It's like they turn to Jelly.  It just gets too sore and weak for me to keep skiing the same way I'm used to.  And that's when I'm at the highest risk of injuring myself, because my body control isn't quite there and I start getting lazy with how much effort I'm putting into digging into the mountain.   I had it happen to me the last time I went skiing.  I was fine the entire day, kicking butt and owning the mountain.  I figured I had one more run in me so I went on the backside of the mountain... half way down I realized I had made a serious mistake.  I didn't have any strength left in my legs.  I wiped out 5 times trying to get down the backside, then had to go up a chair lift and fumble my way back down the front side.  I was lucky I didn't slam into a tree and hurt myself.

Perhaps similar to that, Embiid's doctors have set a hard cap on the amount of NBA-level basketball minutes he should be playing over the course of 2 hours.  Maybe the concern is that with his level of conditioning coming back after 2 years away from the game, he could exceed 24 minutes and suddenly enter the Jelly-Legs zone where his knees could buckle at any time.   In which case, it's best they just play it safe.  He was already scheduled to skip Friday's game with rest... so they are clearly taking it slow with Embiid and making sure his cardio gets up to optimal levels before they lift that minute restriction.

And if he makes it long enough to see his minute restriction lifted... god help us.  That Philly team could be dominant in a few years.

 The cool thing about having my boy LB around here is its like we have one of the Philadelphia doctors right here on the blog.

 If Larry Legend says Embiid is good to go full tilt, then I believe him.

You obviously missed his prediction on Embiids health a couple of years ago, or you would be a bit more cautious.

[KG Living Legend]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

I agree with you KG.  The restriction is about spacing out his minutes over the course of a game.  They must feel that at this stage, if he exceeds 4 minute stints, he's going to get winded... and when you're winded is when you are at risk of tripping over yourself and getting injured.   

So with those 4 minute stints we're talking...

- 4 minutes the start of the 1st
- Tons of rest during the next 6 minutes of game action (which can be like 15-20 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 2 minutes of 1st.
- Lots of rest between quarters
- Plays first 2 minutes of 2nd
- Lots of rest for the next 8 minutes of game action (which can be like 25 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 4 minutes of 2nd quarter.
- Tons of rest during half time...

Etc...   Over the course of the game, that gives him plenty of time to recover and he's never playing for too long at once.    So the "24 minute" cap is a function of how his minutes space out over a 48 minute game.   So why not just extend it during overtime?   Have him sit the first 2 minutes, then play the next 3 (which is why he ended up with 27 minutes).    Then do the same thing in the second overtime, right?  But for whatever reason they decided not to push it any further.


The only thing I'll say is that perhaps there's literally a per-game minute cap.  Let me put it like this.  Do you ski?   When I go skiing, there's a point after several hours and many runs where my legs just suddenly quit on me.  It will happen out of nowhere.  I can be in the middle of a run and then suddenly... oh crap, I'm done.   After a long day of skiing, the muscles in my legs just can't take it anymore.  It's like they turn to Jelly.  It just gets too sore and weak for me to keep skiing the same way I'm used to.  And that's when I'm at the highest risk of injuring myself, because my body control isn't quite there and I start getting lazy with how much effort I'm putting into digging into the mountain.   I had it happen to me the last time I went skiing.  I was fine the entire day, kicking butt and owning the mountain.  I figured I had one more run in me so I went on the backside of the mountain... half way down I realized I had made a serious mistake.  I didn't have any strength left in my legs.  I wiped out 5 times trying to get down the backside, then had to go up a chair lift and fumble my way back down the front side.  I was lucky I didn't slam into a tree and hurt myself.

Perhaps similar to that, Embiid's doctors have set a hard cap on the amount of NBA-level basketball minutes he should be playing over the course of 2 hours.  Maybe the concern is that with his level of conditioning coming back after 2 years away from the game, he could exceed 24 minutes and suddenly enter the Jelly-Legs zone where his knees could buckle at any time.   In which case, it's best they just play it safe.  He was already scheduled to skip Friday's game with rest... so they are clearly taking it slow with Embiid and making sure his cardio gets up to optimal levels before they lift that minute restriction.

And if he makes it long enough to see his minute restriction lifted... god help us.  That Philly team could be dominant in a few years.

 The cool thing about having my boy LB around here is its like we have one of the Philadelphia doctors right here on the blog.

 If Larry Legend says Embiid is good to go full tilt, then I believe him.

You obviously missed his prediction on Embiids health a couple of years ago, or you would be a bit more cautious.

  "My Sauces tell me" That LB has a new Source inside Philly's Brain trust.

[LarBrd33]

 They already broke their 24 minute "rule" by 3 minutes, what's another 3 minutes. You play to win the game. Unless you're tanking.

I agree with you KG.  The restriction is about spacing out his minutes over the course of a game.  They must feel that at this stage, if he exceeds 4 minute stints, he's going to get winded... and when you're winded is when you are at risk of tripping over yourself and getting injured.   

So with those 4 minute stints we're talking...

- 4 minutes the start of the 1st
- Tons of rest during the next 6 minutes of game action (which can be like 15-20 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 2 minutes of 1st.
- Lots of rest between quarters
- Plays first 2 minutes of 2nd
- Lots of rest for the next 8 minutes of game action (which can be like 25 minutes with timeouts and such)
- Plays last 4 minutes of 2nd quarter.
- Tons of rest during half time...

Etc...   Over the course of the game, that gives him plenty of time to recover and he's never playing for too long at once.    So the "24 minute" cap is a function of how his minutes space out over a 48 minute game.   So why not just extend it during overtime?   Have him sit the first 2 minutes, then play the next 3 (which is why he ended up with 27 minutes).    Then do the same thing in the second overtime, right?  But for whatever reason they decided not to push it any further.


The only thing I'll say is that perhaps there's literally a per-game minute cap.  Let me put it like this.  Do you ski?   When I go skiing, there's a point after several hours and many runs where my legs just suddenly quit on me.  It will happen out of nowhere.  I can be in the middle of a run and then suddenly... oh crap, I'm done.   After a long day of skiing, the muscles in my legs just can't take it anymore.  It's like they turn to Jelly.  It just gets too sore and weak for me to keep skiing the same way I'm used to.  And that's when I'm at the highest risk of injuring myself, because my body control isn't quite there and I start getting lazy with how much effort I'm putting into digging into the mountain.   I had it happen to me the last time I went skiing.  I was fine the entire day, kicking butt and owning the mountain.  I figured I had one more run in me so I went on the backside of the mountain... half way down I realized I had made a serious mistake.  I didn't have any strength left in my legs.  I wiped out 5 times trying to get down the backside, then had to go up a chair lift and fumble my way back down the front side.  I was lucky I didn't slam into a tree and hurt myself.

Perhaps similar to that, Embiid's doctors have set a hard cap on the amount of NBA-level basketball minutes he should be playing over the course of 2 hours.  Maybe the concern is that with his level of conditioning coming back after 2 years away from the game, he could exceed 24 minutes and suddenly enter the Jelly-Legs zone where his knees could buckle at any time.   In which case, it's best they just play it safe.  He was already scheduled to skip Friday's game with rest... so they are clearly taking it slow with Embiid and making sure his cardio gets up to optimal levels before they lift that minute restriction.

And if he makes it long enough to see his minute restriction lifted... god help us.  That Philly team could be dominant in a few years.

 The cool thing about having my boy LB around here is its like we have one of the Philadelphia doctors right here on the blog.

 If Larry Legend says Embiid is good to go full tilt, then I believe him.

You obviously missed his prediction on Embiids health a couple of years ago, or you would be a bit more cautious.

You mean when I said he'd be fine while everyone claimed his career was over? 

Sure looks like he's fine to me.  Kid's dominating.  Incredible.

Funny thing is, pretty much every single thing I said about Embiid two years ago proved to be true.  He was dominating people in practice and reported no pain.  He was telling people he was fine.  These were all things I educated the board about and they were all things that were later confirmed.  A routine scan showed that the healing 100% - despite the fact he was dominating people and felt no pain and believed himself to be fully healed.  While most here put on their tin hats and speculated there was a conspiracy theory in Philly and they were trying to cover up the fact that Embiid had re-broken his foot (he didn't), I speculated it had to do with their confort with the healing around the bone and the long-term durability.  My speculation was far more accurate.  In a previous era he probably would have played last year, but why risk him going out there 80%?  We're talking a potentially billion dollar asset here.  You don't mess around with that.  Bone graft made sense for his long term health.  We had seen recent success with bone grafts for guys like Kevin Durant and Brook Lopez.  Smart decision.  While most here inaccurately believed he had re-broke something (he didn't) and wrote him off as being worth less than RJ Hunter ("cuz oden"), I remained confident that he'd eventually play.  I was right.   

They are right to take it slow with him.  What he's doing right now is unbelievable.  He's about as "can't-miss" of a future superstar prospect as I've ever seen.   Consider the potential financial impact his presence can have over the next 10-15 years if he's healthy.  The Cavs value was dramatically impacted by LeBron.

Before James' return, Forbes pegged the Cavs as the 19th most valuable franchise in the league, worth an estimated $515 million.  With the best basketball player on the planet back on the Cavs' roster, the franchise is now worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Forbes had the 76ers value at 700 million earlier this year.  There's 10 teams in this league worth 1.4 billion.  They could literally see their company double in value because of Joel Embiid.     From a business standpoint, you don't want to toy around with that.   I mean seriously... the Boston Celtics are worth 2.1 billion and the Knicks are worth 3 billion.  Joel Embiid could literally mean over 1 billion dollars in value increase for the owners of the 76ers.  Consider that.  You start to realize why him sitting a second overtime in an insignificant game really doesn't matter big picture.  Kid's got unlimited potential.  Now we just need to see if he can get to a point where the restrictions lift and see if he can stay healthy without breaking something else.